September 23, 2012

Church says his torn Achilles was a freak accident, accepts that he won't be back

Barry Church said he doesn’t know how he tore his Achilles, but
he tore it and is done for the season.

“Just one of those freak things,” he said. “I came out of my
break, felt this as I came out. It was a freak accident.”

Church came out of the game early in the second half, and he sat
on the sideline with his head in his hands. He watched most of the third
quarter from the training room, but came back to the field in the fourth
quarter.

“It’s definitely a heart-breaker for me,” he said. “I was
definitely looking forward to leading our defense, being a contributor. But you
know, circumstances happen. You’ve just got to move forward from it.”

Church, who made the team in 2010 as an undrafted free agent from
Toledo, moved
into a starting safety spot this year with a strong training camp.

“That’s rough,” safety Danny McCray said. “That’s one of my real
good friends on the team. I feel for him. I say a prayer for him. I really can’t
even speak on that one right now. I’m kind of in shock right now, just like he
is.”

Church remained upbeat in the locker room, saying he’d encourage
his teammates the rest of the season.

“From what I saw in the training room, I saw that they played
pretty well,” he said of his secondary mates. “It seemed like they didn’t miss
a beat with me or Sensabaugh missing out there. I hope they continue to do that
for the remainder of the season. And I’ll be cheering them on from the
sideline.”